Emmerdale's Matthew Wolfenden has reflected on the end of his marriage to Charley Webb, his former co-star on the soap, saying her decision came as a "shock".
Wolfenden and Webb, who played David Metcalfe and Debbie Dingle on the ITV soap, were in a 15-year-long relationship. They tied the knot in 2018 and share three kids together, but decided to go their separate ways in 2023.
Speaking on The Lewis Nicholls Show, Wolfenden said the decision to break up came from his then-partner.
"We didn't really drift apart," the soap actor shared, explaining it was "Charley's decision".
"Charley decided that was what she wanted. She wanted to separate. It was a hard time for me," he said.
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"By then I had decided to leave Emmerdale. Charley was on tour with her play. So I was leaving a job I had for 18 years, and had just been offered a job in West End. It was a big change. I also had the kids full time at home because Charley was on tour. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue, I got the news that she wanted to separate," he added.
Wolfenden shared he didn't anticipate that Webb would want to separate.
"I didn't expect it at all. It was a big shock," he said.
After figuring out the best way to co-parent, Wolfenden said he and Webb are "amicable" now and have a friendship.
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"We are still friends – we have kids together. We are always going to have a relationship," he said. "And we had the best 15 years together, and we got the best three kids out of it."
Wolfenden is now in a relationship with choreographer Heather Scott-Martin, who he met during the production of the musical ELF.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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